[This is pre-release documentation and subject to change in future releases. This topic's current status is: Milestone-Ready]

Topic Last Modified: 2010-07-09

To prepare Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) for your Microsoft Communications Server 2010 deployment, you must perform three steps in a specific sequence.

The following table describes the steps required to prepare Active Directory Domain Services for Communications Server 2010.

Active Directory Preparation Steps

Step Description Where run

1.

Schema Preparation

Extends the Active Directory schema by adding new classes and attributes that are used by Communications Server.

Run once for each forest in your deployment.

Against the schema master in the root domain of each forest where Communications Server 2010 will be deployed

Note:
You do not need to run this step in the root domain if you have permissions on the schema master, but you must be a member of the SchemaAdmins group in the root domain and administrator on the SchemaMaster. In a resource forest topology, run this step only in the resource forest, not in any user forests. In a central forest topology, run this step only in the central forest, not in any user forests.

2.

Forest Preparation

Creates global settings and universal groups that are used by Communications Server.

Run once for each forest in your deployment.

In the root domain of each forest where Communications Server 2010 will be deployed.

Note:
In a resource forest topology, run this step only in the resource forest, not in any user forests. In a central forest topology, run this step only in the central forest, not in any user forests.

3.

Domain Preparation

Adds permissions on objects to be used by members of universal groups.

Run once per user domain or server domain.

Note:
If you are migrating from Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to Communications Server 2010, the Deployment Wizard may indicate that domain preparation is already complete. You do not need to run domain preparation again. Permissions were not changed from Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to Communications Server 2010.

On a member server in each domain where Communications Server 2010 will be deployed

Changes for Communications Server

For Communications Server 2010, you run the same Active Directory preparation steps that you did for Office Communications Server 2007 R2. However, for Communications Server 2010, you use new deployment tools to run the steps. For details, see Preparing Active Directory Domain Services.

In Communications Server 2010, you no longer delegate setup and administration in the way you did in previous versions of Communications Server. Instead, you can grant setup permissions to the RTCUniversalServerAdmins universal group so that members of that group can install and activate Communications Server 2010 on a local server (after the server has been added to the topology, published, and enabled). The delegated users must be local administrators on the computer where they are installing and activating Communications Server 2010, but they do not need to be members of the DomainAdmins group. You can also grant permissions for objects in specified organizational units (OUs) so that members of the universal groups created during forest preparation can access those objects without being members of the DomainAdmins group.

The default location for global settings is still the Configuration container. If your organization is upgrading from an earlier version of Communications Server and you still have global settings in the System container, the System container is still supported. For new deployments of Communications Server 2010, however, global settings must be stored in the Configuration container.

Note:
For Office Communications Server 2007 deployments, we recommend that you move global settings to the Configuration container before migrating to Communications Server 2010. If you decide to move the global settings, you must move them before you run schema preparation for Communications Server 2010. For details, see "Migrating Global Settings Container" at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=185227.

See Also